Have a good design and good performance. This is highly recommended by Tustin Pro Pest Control.

None so far.

hearing that the D2's work classic workhorses, I feel I have a good upgraded version. I like the convenience of the condenser drawer. You don't have to pull the head out to shift condensers like my B-22.

none so far.

For B&W photographers on a budget it works great. I only do 4x5 with it. The manual focus works fine so I haven't taken the time to explore its' auto-focus capability.

Customer Service

I figure the only service I'll nee to do is an alignment which I'll do myself.

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Omega B-22 which has been another great workhorse, Leitz Focomat IC, love the way this one holds the negative flat.

Excellent design, sturdy, easily repairable. It has convenient autofocus with 3 different focal length lenses. If taken care of this is an enlarger which will be handed down through several more photographers after I am done with it.

None within the perameters of what this enlarger was designed to do. It is one of the best.

I like this enlarger. It is very sturdy, especially with a bracket I made for the top of the channels to the wall. Since these enlargers are fairly complex it is very important to understand how they work. Harry Taylor at Classic Enlargers has reprints of Omega instruction manuals which are probably a necessity if you are not very mechanical. I'll bet anyone who has one of these enlargers in good working order and knows how to use it will find it works very well. Since these enlargers are sold used and have often had several owners and have been modified or not taken care of or have missing parts, if you do not take the time to understand what you are dealing with you will probably have a lot of problems you think are design flaws. Mine works beautifully. It came with many extra accessories, cones, condensers and lenses so everything was in good working order.

Customer Service

I have found that Harry Taylor's forum is the best place to ask questions and get good answers about my enlarger. I have never had my equipment serviced by anyone other than myself, mostly cleaning an

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I have used all sorts of enlargers and this is my favorite.

Price

Build quality. Autofocus mechanism.

I used a D3 enlarger with dichroic head for some time, but the build quality was way below my expectations. The autofocus mechanism was so poorly made that I could hardly use it. Durst L-900 sets the standard in this respect! The mechansim for the dichroic filters were also inaccurate. I switched to Durst L-1200 and later to L-139G and my world changed completely!

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Durst L-900, L-1200 and L-139G

Indestructable build quality - we've been using one DAILY for over FORTY years and it works just as well as when it was brand new.

Versatility and modularity - the range of available lensboards/cones, illumination heads, negative carriers, etc. is just mind-boggling.

As opposed to the more common D2, the D3 is the "Automega", so called for its autofocus system. This is more properly "follow-focus", in that it keeps the image in focus as you change the image size (by means of a geared linkage between the focus and size controls). It works absolutely beautifully, and is a great convenience.

Ours is a D3v, with the variable condenser lamphouse: moving a single lens element into three different slot positions focuses the light for different focal-length lenses (and film formats). It works like a charm.

We have used this enlarger with a variety of lenses for everything from Minox negs on up to 4x5 negs (and also with a reduction bellows for critically-sized prints from any-size litho negs) and it has always been a spectacular performer. Prints are always sharp and evenly illuminated.

It's big and heavy, and you can't easily use it in a part-time darkroom setup in a kitchen or bathroom - it really needs a dedicated place to live.

Ours developed a focusing bellows leak recently. The quick-fix solution - duct tape - has been fine so far, but new bellows may eventually be required. (After 40+ years, that's not unreasonable!)

If you want a piece of serious professional darkroom equipment that will probably outlast YOU, you won't go wrong with a used Omega D series enlarger, and the D3v is a particularly good one!

Customer Service

Never needed any, but I think Omega no longer supports these babies. But numerous other specialists do, there are lots of Ds in use all over the place.

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Many - Beseler 23C, Durst M600, giant old 5x7 and 8x10 Elwoods - lots of others.

Solid built.
-Convenient multiformat condenser system
-Cheap on second hand

-not smooth on manual focus (almost impossible to focusprecisely)
-Projection out of the base for enlargements higher than 7x
-some vibrations
-poor ergonomy

Convenient product , buy only if the price is really low and if you nned a4x5 format

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Durst